PARADISE — The immediate, physical impact of the Camp Fire is plainly obvious to anyone who lost one of the nearly 14,000 homes in the blaze, or who sees the blistered remains of buildings that once made up the town of Paradise.

But less immediately visible are the scars wildfire can inflict on the local environment, including surface water, groundwater and the wildlife population.

“Environmental health implications of a fire such as this could take months and years to even be realized,” said Lisa Almaguer, a spokesperson with Butte County Public Health. “The county is also working with state and federal agencies to start the household hazardous waste removal and then the ash and debris removal. The quicker the properties can be cleaned, the better it is for the environment and for the rebuilding process.”

Also of concern is the recent rain in the area, which has washed much of the debris and toxic materials into surface water collections like streams and wells.

Kristin Cooper Carter, co-owner of North State Water Treatment says there’s a lot of concern for private well owners in the affected area, who may have only ever tested their well once, when the property was first bought. “You should definitely test that water before you drink it,” she said.

“We test public small water systems on a regular basis,” Cooper Carter said, “but we have to test what isn’t usually tested now.” One other thing to keep in mind, she said, is that this fire is of a magnitude never seen before, meaning that the effect on surface and groundwater has never been seen before.

“Previous research has all been done on surface water runoff,” she said, “but groundwater is a relatively conceptually new situation. We really don’t have anything to compare it to.”

Surface water should clear up by the end of winter, when enough rain comes through the area to wipe the slate clean, she said. But as for all those heavy metals and toxins seeping into the groundwater, it’s really going to “depend on the geological features of where you are.” Each town will be a different situation.

“My concern is that it’s going to get pretty expensive,” Cooper Carter said. “Who will pay?”

And once the pollutants leach from surface water to groundwater, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches the aquifer. “How it will play with the aquifer… where that reaches into… it’s an unknown situation,” she said.

In the meantime, she suggests not letting animals drink from puddles or streams until the surface water has a chance to run clean again.

A burned raccoon roams around after the fatal Camp Fire in Paradise on Saturday. (Ray Chavez — Bay Area News Group)

Wild animals in the burn areas are facing a rough time too, but they’re much more adapted to this type of sudden environmental change, said Henry Lomeli, a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Lomeli has gotten so many inquires about the local fauna that he’s put together a form email he’s been sending out to all the worried people.

“While it may be difficult for most people to accept,” he wrote, “the wildlife in annual grassland, chaparral and mixed conifer habitats are actually very well adapted to fire and will rebound rapidly without human intervention. Although there are some reports of dead wildlife from the fire, it will be impossible to accurately predict how many animals were impacted or displaced.”

Most importantly, he said, is to stop feeding the wildlife in affected areas. “Our department does not support the feeding of animals,” he said. “It concentrates them and makes them more dependant on artificial feeding stations.”

Actually, according to Lomeli, the long-term recovery of the local wildlife is extremely good. The area is projected to see a healthier bird population in the next two to five years, while the population of squirrels, foxes, rabbits, racoons, deer, bears and more four-legged friends are expected to see a higher mortality rate this winter, but in the next three to five years will grow to even more than before.

“As difficult as it may be to see pictures of charred earth and burnt animals, we all must accept that these are very short-lived images and that within a few months, nature will begin the process of renewal all over again,” Lomeli said.